Glance
by east-side-stories
Summary: The campers are tricked onto the island a year after the first season. Cody won't leave Noah alone so the know-it-all turns to Duncan for help. It all goes downhill from there in a romance no one saw coming. !DuncanXNoah! ON HIATUS
1. Prologue

_Let's get one thing straight people: This is slash. If you don't like it, don't read it—it's as simple as that. If you flame me, you're just wasting your time because I'm not about to stop writing slash. Get over it. _

_On a more friendly note, this story will be DuncanXNoah. Weird? Well, they're my two favourite characters so I decided to put them together. After all, it could be funny, right? We'll see I suppose. _

_There will also be one-sided CodyXNoah, one-sided HeatherXDuncan, and anything else I feel the need to throw in there. _

_One more thing: this is just an informational chapter on where the characters are; who's gonna be there and who's not. May be a tad boring but if you skip it you won't miss anything, I promise. (I'll recap in Chapter One) Enjoy~_

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* * *

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**...**

_(It all starts with a)_

_Glance_

**...**

_**~Prologue~**_

The campers from Wawanakwa were invited to the island one year later for a reunion. There would be no voting off; there would be no challenges. There would only be the twenty-two campers relaxing for a month or two...or however long it was. None of the teens really read the pamphlet—not even Noah.

But, it was going to be a time of relaxation. At least, that's what they were told.

A few couldn't make it to the camp that summer, though. Lindsey had become a model and couldn't afford taking time off—she couldn't read the pamphlet to even consider the idea, either.

Her boyfriend, Tyler, had better things to do than get canoes thrown on him at some camp. If there was any chance that Heather was going, he certainly was not. And if his girlfriend wasn't going to be there, he wouldn't bother.

Owen had gotten offers to become a movie star and was working in Hollywood. He would have loved to go to camp again and eat Chef's food, but he simply couldn't take the time off of his hot career.

Izzy had been put into a mental hospital, so she didn't receive the pamphlet.

Beth decided that Chris was way too manipulative and that he had something else planned rather than a few months of vacation. It all just seemed too innocent. Alas, she didn't go.

Gwen and Trent talked it over and decided that they didn't need whatever drama Chris was cooking up. Gwen was sick to the brim of everything related to that camp, so Trent agreed to stay home with her.

The rest of the campers, for some reason or another, packed up their things and headed off to camp.


	2. Chapter 1

_Who's on the island: Cody, Heather, Justin, Leshawna, Noah, Courtney, Bridgette, Duncan, DJ, Eva, Ezekiel, Sadie, Katie, Harold, and Geoff. _

_Who's __**not**__ on the island: Gwen, Trent, Beth, Izzy, Lindsay, Owen, and Tyler. _

_Now, I'll remind once more that this is slash—DuncanXNoah. Don't go crying to me saying I didn't warn you, it will get rather graphic later. I'll put a warning in the beginning of the chapter if that is the case, though. _

_At any rate, enjoy~!_

* * *

**...**

_(It all starts with a) _

_Glance_

**...**

_**Chapter One: **_

Chris waited patiently on the dock as the campers arrived. It had been a year since he'd seen them, and he was quite looking forward to having them back at the island.

The first boat neared and a grin spread across Chris' face as he saw a toque—obviously Ezekiel (although the toque was purely black instead of its old colors). The kid seemed to have given up his gangster look, adopting a more punk look instead. He was wearing a shirt that was blue, red, and white. Its design was that of the British flag, although Chris knew the boy was not British.

Ezekiel hopped off of the boat, walking toward Chris in tight, ripped black jeans. Ezekiel turned to wave goodbye to the boat, and Chris was quite shocked-and a little appalled—to find out that the back of his shirt was made of fishnet. Chris was also quite shocked to see that Ezekiel's back had two large angel wing tattoos on it.

Very shocked indeed.

Ezekiel turned back to Chris, picked up his bags, and raised an eyebrow at the man, "What, not gonna welcome me, eh?"

"Sorry man, but whoa what happened to the G look?" Chris asked, slapping a high five with the teen.

"Gotta keep it real, eh," Ezekiel said, passing Chris to stand at the other end of the dock.

And soon, the gang was gathered, like a huge de-ja-vu for all of them. They were just staring to talk to each other when Chris interrupted them, "Welcome fellow campers, to a new season of Total Drama Island!" he shouted, thrusting his arms out.

"Excuse me?" Heather demanded.

"I thought you said we weren't going to be doing any challenges or eliminations," Courtney threw in.

"Fine print, my friend. Fine print cancelled out everything in the letter," Chris said. He was grinning like a mad man while he let the knowledge sink into the teen's minds. Another season. One more season. Eliminations, drama, voting, challenges... two more months of that.

"And when we lose, we go to the Playa des Losers?" Courtney asked.

"Maybe," Chris said, "Or maybe not. The first loser will find out; but do you want to risk it?"

"I hate mind games!" Heather shouted, "Just tell us!"

"There's no fun in that," Chris tisked, shaking his head, "If I actually helped you guys out, then I wouldn't get to be as sadistic as I am... and I'd rather be sadistic than give you answers anyway. Gets better ratings, you know."

"True dat," came a voice from behind Chris. A smaller man basically came out of nowhere; his blonde hair was wavy and his eyes sparkled a most luscious emerald. He was a little small but could easily pass as a model—he didn't have Justin's potential, though.

"Oh. And this is the new intern," Chris said, jerking a thumb toward the blonde guy, "You don't need to know his name because he probably won't live for much longer. SO, who's ready to get split into teams??" there was a unanimous groan.

"Can't we just use the same teams as last time?" Courtney asked. She wanted to be on Duncan's team again.

"Well.... fine, okay," Chris said with a shrug, "Though that makes the teams uneven 6-9. You guys good with that?"

"Leshawna can be on our team," Bridgette suggested, wanting to save her friend from Heather.

"I'm so down with that," Leshawna said with a smile.

"Well that makes the teams 5-10. You guys aren't making any progress...Oh well. So in ten minutes, I'm gonna come back and you'll have to have both teams decided. One has to be seven people and the other will be eight. If you don't have those numbers, I get to pick your teams for you...and you won't like that. Now, good luck!" he and his intern walked of the dock.

That was when all hell broke loose.


	3. Chapter 2

_Hey yo! Chapter two here... enjoy I guess!_

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**...**

_(It all starts with a)_

_Glance_

**...**

_**Chapter Two: **_

With the amount of bickering that went on, it's plain amazing that the group had anything figured out by the time Chris came back with his intern. Strangely enough though, the group completed their task and one side had eight people while the other had seven.

Unfortunately, the teams were quite uneven in the skills department.

"So you've done it! I'm impressed," Chris said, clapping his hands twice before getting back to business, "And since one of your teams only has seven, my intern will be on that team. His name is Benjamin, by the way." Chris grabbed his intern and shoved him toward his new team, a look of bewilderment and horror on the blonde's face.

"Best way to learn is to do," Chris stated, his eyes closed with his pointer finger raised. He figured that his intern would learn to be cruel and sadistic by enduring cruel and sadistic things. He was probably right.

Poor Benjamin looked absolutely terrified though, since he knew—and probably helped invent—the challenges that the teens would face.

His expression was not comforting to the other people, though the new Screaming Bass team was happy to have him on board.

Duncan's team was talking amongst themselves, having a good time. Heather's team was getting ready to lose.

"Okay, so we only have two girls on our team," Heather said, looking at Eva. Perhaps there was only one girl on the team, but for argument's sake Heather didn't correct herself, "Now that we have Benjamin, we have a shot... but honestly, look at us. We're the worst team and we'll be lucky if we get far enough to reach the 'every camper for themselves' stage," she lectured with authority.

"If that stage even exists anymore," Cody wailed. He couldn't stand the idea that all of the rules were probably different this time around—nothing would be expected.

Noah looked to Benjamin, "Well I'd assume he knows every challenge..." he trailed off, leaving the others to finish his thought.

Heather's face split into a mischievous grin, "Noah you sly dog, of course! We might have the worst players, but we've got inside information on our side! Benjamin, what's the first challenge?" she leaned in to listen, as did the rest of the team.

Benjamin let out a shriek and leapt into the water, paddling quickly away into the middle of the lake. The new team looked at each other in confusion, but then shrugged it off and turned back to Chris.

"So you guys, the Screaming Bass, have eight members; Cody, Heather, Noah, Eva, Ezekiel, Harold, Justin, and Benjamin. Pretty pathetic guys, I wish you luck." He turned toward the other team then, "And as for you, the Killer Gophers, your members include Duncan, Bridgette, Geoff, Leshawna, Courtney, DJ, Katie, and Sadie. Not too shabby."

Chris turned to the camera, "And since the campers haven't seen each other in a year, I think it would be a good time to let the two teams catch up, wouldn't you? Tomorrow will also be a free day, but the morning after that, bright and early, I'll be introducing their newest challenge. Stay tuned!"

He looked to the teens on the dock, "So you have today and tomorrow to yourselves. Get settled in and relax—it'll be the last time you get a chance." He laughed evilly and walked away.

Heather stomped her foot on the ground, "Now what?!" She demanded of her team, "Our team sucks and the only useful member besides me is in the middle of the lake, hiding from god-knows what! I hate this island!" she stomped off of the dock and up the beach toward the cabins. Noah figured it was good riddance; he was getting a headache just listening to her talk.

Noah glanced at his team, also quite unimpressed with who he ended up with. Still, when he looked out to the water, he figured that he'd fit in with them better than Benjamin would. If the guy ran scared all of the time, Noah wouldn't be the first one voted off.

Hopefully.

* * *

The other team was getting along quite nicely, as they could break off into sets of two. The camera focused on Duncan and Courtney, who seemed to be having a fight.

"Oh, and you didn't even think to come SEE me once??" Courtney demanded.

"Hey, I didn't have time, okay? With the police on my tail and stuff, I just didn't get around to it. I'm sorry, okay?" Duncan offered.

"It doesn't matter if you're sorry!" Courtney screamed, "It's over, Duncan! I found someone new anyway!!"

Duncan frowned, not too hung up about the breakup. He'd been planning to break it off with her at the reunion anyhow—long distance relationships didn't work for him. That, and he just didn't really feel anything for her. It wore off after a year of no contact.

Which was strange, because during that year, Duncan had gotten attached to someone else. He hadn't even seen the person, though his thoughts were full of the other. Duncan knew he had to act on it, and he was planning on it. Besides, the thought-infector was coincidentally at the camp. Duncan hadn't expected the person to go, but he was glad that they did.

Unfortunately, the person was on the other team. Perhaps Courtney would want to trade places? Duncan would way rather be on a team with...

"Are you even listening to me??" Courtney demanded.

"Hm? Oh, of course Princess," Duncan responded sarcastically. Damn, he was sounding a little like Noah right there.

"I HATE YOU!!" Courtney yelled, slapping Duncan in the face and charging up the dock, retreating toward the cabins.

Duncan frowned, rubbing his face tenderly.

Chris was in his office somewhere, laughing as he told Chef that he loved television. Chef simply stirred a pot with his bare hand, not really listening to Chris. He had to listen to the man every single day...

"So you want me to cast all the way out there, snag him, and reel him in?" Harold asked.

Cody nodded, "Benjamin is not coming back on his own, so you'll have to help him!"

Noah rolled his eyes, "Oh please," he said, "There's no way Harold can possibly cast that far. It is physically impossible."

Cody grinned at Noah, "Wanna bet?"

"No, I hate betting. Betting is for losers," Noah said, opening his book and beginning to read.

Eva smacked the book out of Noah's hand and onto the dock with a growl, "Impossible? HOW ABOUT I THROW YOU OUT THERE WITH HIM????" she fisted her hand in the front of Noah's shirt angrily, lifting him off of the ground.

"Now, I think that is taking it a bit-" Eva tossed him "-fa...AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He passed Benjamin by a few meters, landing in the water near the other male.

"Hey. Sup?" Noah said to Benjamin, fainting. His body floated on his back though, so he wasn't about to drown.

Benjamin glanced at Noah but otherwise did nothing, still shaking in fear from everyone leaning in to listen to him before. He hated being put on the spot—he didn't do well under pressure.

"Dang, Eva," Harold whined; "Now I have to reel them both in..."


	4. Chapter 3

_Hey yo! I really wanted to post a chapter where they actually communitcate... lol_

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**...**

_(It all starts with a)_

_Glance_

**...**

_**Chapter Three: **_

Finally dry and left in peace, Noah settled himself near the campfire. It was still light out and there was no fire, but since no one else was around, he figured that reading there would be just what he needed. After all, he only had two more days to read before he had to waste his time doing challenges.

Flipping a page, Noah was vaguely aware of another's presence near him. He looked to his left, finding Cody perched on the wooden stool beside him, "Hey Noah," Cody said softly.

Noah frowned, not understanding why Cody was talking quiet, "What?" he asked back in his usual volume. Just because Cody felt the need to whisper didn't mean he did.

"Uh... Well I was just thinking that we haven't seen each other for a year, and uh... well, I was thinking that we could.... catch up? So how was school? I heard you were like class president or something. How did that go?" Cody asked intently.

"Surprisingly easily," Noah stated, returning his gaze to his book.

"Oh I see," Cody said, "You're amazing. I could never do something like that."

"Well that's obvious," Noah stated plainly, flipping a page.

Cody's face fell a bit, but he was quick to recover, "Yeah," he agreed with a forced laugh, "I guess not... anyway, uh..." he didn't know what else to say. It was obvious that Noah did not want to talk to him.

"Hey, you ever think about girls and stuff?" Cody asked, "Like, you have a girlfriend or anything?"

Noah frowned at the other, snapping his book shut and standing, "I'm not having this conversation with you," he stated, starting to walk away.

Cody panicked, leaping up and trotting along beside Noah, "Ah, but I was just asking! I didn't mean anything by it, really!" but he did. He wanted to know if Noah was gay or not; he had to know. He loved Noah—he had ever since he'd met the guy a year ago.

"Sure.... whatever," Noah continued on his way, unimpressed. He was ignoring Cody then, and other boy knew it.

Cody sighed, deciding to revert to his usual self, "Well hot stuff, I'll see you around...I hope," he winked at Noah and strutted off.

Noah rolled his eyes. The boy had been like that all day—Cody had even tried to give him mouth-to-mouth when Harold finally did reel him in.

Speaking of which, Noah realized his arm was throbbing strangely. Pulling up his sleeve, he studied his bandage. Chef had said that the bandages were sterile, but then again, what was sterile around there?

Noah frowned, thinking that he knew what went on. Sure, the bandage was sterile—but Noah was allergic to it. The boy had a lot of allergies to different things (in particular, foods, though other things besides just that).

Unravelling the bandage, Noah looked at the swollen mark the hook from the fishing line had sunken in. The hook had pulled his entire body to shore—it had gone in pretty deep. His arm once the bandage was removed was not a pretty sight, causing the boy to wince at the appearance. Yes, he'd definitely been allergic to the bandage...

"Hello gorgeous. Miss me? I couldn't stay away," Cody said, licking his hand and slicking his hair back. Then he looked at what Noah was focusing on—the wound—and Cody's eyes enlarged to comical proportions, "OH MY GOD ARE YOU OKAY, HUNNY???"

Noah frowned, pushing Cody away from him as he passed, tossing the bandage in the bushes, "I'm fine," Noah stated, shoving his hands in his pockets, keeping his book against his body with his elbow. It was a fancy skill he'd learned over the years.

"NO YOU'RE NOT, YOU NEED HELP!!!" Cody was full-out panicking now, looking frantically in all directions. Noah feigned shooting himself as the other wasn't paying attention. Of course, it went unnoticed.

"There a problem here?" came a rough voice; one that belonged to none other than Duncan.

Cody smiled, regaining his composure, "Yeah man!" he said, "Noah's got some stat effects that need some 'tension! ...Stat!" he was trying too hard to be cool again.

Duncan looked at Noah, "What's up?" he asked. He wasn't quite sure what Cody had meant, but he knew it had something to do with Noah, and that was enough information to make him become involved.

Noah shrugged, walking past the other two, "I don't know what he's talking about," he said simply.

Duncan frowned, catching Noah's arm as the other male passed him. His grip held firm and Noah let out a loud, high-pitched shriek, Duncan's hand clasped right on top of the infected wound.

"What's wrong??" Duncan demanded, getting annoyed and angry.

Noah could feel tears coming to his eyes as Duncan tightened his hold, the fingers squeezing Noah's injury more and more by the second.

"Let go, you're hurting him!" Cody bellowed, but didn't move. He was too afraid of Duncan to actually stop the guy. Hell, yelling was a big feat for him.

Duncan frowned at Cody, looking back at a crying Noah and releasing the other immediately, "Whoa, what's wrong, man?" Duncan asked as his whole face softened, his entire demeanour not threatening at all.

Cody watched Duncan, tilting his head just a bit. The delinquent sure did make a drastic change when he saw Noah crying...

His arm now bleeding, Noah held onto the wound and headed off, ignoring Duncan's attempt to talk to him. The convict let the other walk away, turning then on Cody. Duncan's aura became supercharged as he advanced on the small brunette.

Duncan rolled up his sleeves, "What was that about? How did he get hurt?" he demanded, fisting a hand in the collar of Cody's shirt, lifting the kid off of the ground.

Cody was instantly reminded of Noah and Eva earlier that same day, and feared that he too would be thrown into the middle of the lake. There wouldn't even be a Harold to reel him in...

"Are you listening to me??" Duncan demanded, shaking Cody.

"Oh! Uh, yeah Noah got reeled in by Harold today when he got thrown in the lake, and he never really did say what was wrong with the injury. I saw him toss his bandage in the bush, so that means that he must have taken it off for a reason, though I don't know that was reason is," Cody explained, "....Home slice," he added.

Duncan dropped Cody, turning and leaving in the direction Noah had gone.

Cody stood up again and rubbed his butt, watching Duncan's retreating figure. There was one thought on his mind then; competition. Duncan was going after Noah—it was painfully obvious. Cody had the advantage though, being on the same team as Noah and all. Duncan would have to work pretty hard to get Noah's attention...

* * *

Noah found himself in his dorm, digging through his bag until he located his medicated salve. He applied it directly to his swollen wound, hissing a bit as he did so. He was just figuring out how to wrap his tensor around his arm when there was a knock on the dorm door.

"Come in... or don't, I don't care," Noah drawled, his back turned to the door as he tried holding one end of the tensor bandage with his teeth and wrapping his arm with the other hand.

"Need some help?" Duncan asked. He was across the room and up on Noah's bed before Noah could even register whose voice it was. The delinquent was seated in front of him, grinning a bit.

Noah frowned, "Nu-uh. 'Ve g't th'ss c'vrrd," he mumbled, his teeth still closed around the bandage as he tried with his hands to wrap the peach fabric around his arm. It was seriously not working, but he didn't want to admit that he needed help. That wasn't something Noah ever did.

"Oh really?" Duncan moved Noah's back pack out of the way, moving to sit right in front of the other and pull Noah's arm toward himself, taking the tensor away from the other, "Just sit still," Duncan instructed.

Noah made a show of rolling his eyes and looking at the wall in a bored fashion, "I can do this myself you know," he said.

"Right. That's why you were having such an easy time with it, hey Dear?" Duncan teased.

Noah looked at the other curiously, "Dear? Never call me that again."

"Oh, you liked that? I'll call you that from now on if that's what you want, Dear," Duncan smirked.

Noah frowned, yanking his arm away when the other was finished with it, "Why are you in my dorm, anyway? Stalker," Noah accused.

Duncan grinned, "If that's what you want to call it, then sure. Why not, Dear," he winked at Noah before hopping off of the other's bed, heading for the door, "Let me know if you get any more injuries. Doctor Duncan can help!" he left and closed the door behind him.

Noah sighed, zipping his back pack up and setting it to the side as he smoothed out his bed where Duncan had been sitting. He was about to get into some serious thought when the door burst open again.


	5. Chapter 4

_Hey guys! I'm getting such a good response to this story, I'm glad you all enjoy it so much!! I hope you'll continue enjoying it in the future, also. _

_Anyways, here's another chapter. I have two more done so far after this one so I'll probably be posting them tonight also. :]_

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**...**

_(It all starts with a)_

_Glance_

**...**

_**Chapter Four: **_

"Hey baby, I brought you flowers!!" Cody exclaimed, prancing toward Noah's bunk.

"And what could I possibly need flowers for?" Noah asked, not looking at Cody as he pulled off his shirt. He didn't like wearing bloody shirts—it wasn't his style.

But Cody did not answer. He couldn't. The brunette was glued to the floor, looking up at an oblivious, shirtless Noah. Cody was mesmerized by the utter beauty, the sexiness...

"Hey guys," Harold greeted, walking in the door.

Cody looked at him and shrieked at the vast difference—it was like looking at a princess and then gazing at a hideous troll. Harold was nothing like Noah, and the difference between them was worth shrieking about.

"What's his problem?" Harold asked as Cody ran past him to get out of the dorm, taking the flowers with him.

"Beats me, I don't understand the guy," Noah stated with a roll of his eyes. He flopped down onto his bed, stretching out with his hands behind his head. He could smell a faint whiff of Duncan's cologne, and he relaxed, closed his eyes for only a moment before sitting up with a sudden jerk. Why did he relax when he smelt Duncan's cologne? That was dumb. No, that never happened.

Noah swung his legs over his bunk and hopped to the ground, leaving out the door. The sun was just starting to set as he neared the log that he was going to sit on. He'd sit on that and watch the sun set over the water. Yes, that sounded nice. Much nicer than smelling Duncan's cologne.

Although, it _did _smell quite-

No. He was not going to finish that thought.

Noah sat on the log, his elbows on his knees and his fingers tapping at his chin in boredom. His unimpressed gaze was fixed on the lake as the sun slowly set, washing the island in a strange orange glow.

His book lay on his lap, forgotten for now. His eyes were solely focused on the blazing orange sun as it lowered in the distance...

Noah heard footsteps approaching behind him and turned slightly to see who dared interrupt his silent time yet again. He was relieved to find that it wasn't Cody, and sad to find that it wasn't Duncan either.

Wait, sad?

Noah was going to check the date on his medical salve when he got back to his dorm.

"Hey Noah," Courtney greeted. She was probably the last person Noah wanted to talk to—ever. What did he have in common with her? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. She didn't even like him.

"I don't have any friends," Courtney stated as she sat down.

"Amazing," Noah said sarcastically, "Alert the media."

Courtney shot him a look, "You know, I'll bet you're nice under that rough exterior of yours. Just like Duncan is a total softie—I'll bet you are too."

"Don't compare me to Duncan," Noah snapped, "We are nothing alike."

"Two sides of a coin; made up of the same stuff on the inside but they look completely different," Courtney said.

"Is that supposed to sound intelligent?"

"This is why no one likes you, you know," Courtney said, "You don't let people say one thing without being cynical or sarcastic about it. People don't like that."

"Ding ding ding, we have a winner. A smart one here, she gets the grand prize of Leave-me-the-hell-alone." Noah stood and walked away from the log with his book, leaving Courtney to sit and watch the rest of the sunset alone.

She didn't mind too much though, she had a few things to think about. Was Noah really like Duncan? If so, she may have better luck with him...

* * *

The night was by no means young, though Noah couldn't sleep. The following day was one of complete freedom; he could catch up on sleep later since there were no challenges scheduled.

Sharing a similar outlook, Duncan was a few meters off, stoking the campfire and prodding at the wood inside with a stick. Noah was for the most part ignoring the other, instead opting to sit on his wooden stool and read his book in the dull light, though sometimes he glanced at Duncan.

Noah glanced at Duncan again, considering the other as the delinquent poked at the fire with a particularly bored expression. Why was it that Duncan always got into trouble? He had a pretty hardcore way of doing everything—anything Duncan did was taken to the extreme...In a violent way. It didn't make sense.

Perhaps there was something in the other's childhood that made him act that way. Noah had no clue...But then again, did he care? No. Noah didn't really care about anything. Especially not Duncan. Nope, no sir.

"Hey, keep your eyes to yourself," Duncan snapped, glaring at Noah. Duncan had run into Courtney again and she had really made him mad. He was still in a severely bad mood and couldn't help but take it out on Noah. The kid didn't really seem to notice or care anyway.

Noah had been caught staring as he thought... And now Duncan wanted a reply. In his usual sarcastic tone, Noah responded, "Gladly..." He turned his attention back to his novel, picking up from where he left off.

Duncan growled, flicking a coal at Noah which the other dodged easily without looking up. The two ignored each other for a few more minutes before Duncan spoke up again, "So, you with that Cody guy or something?" he asked Noah.

Noah didn't bother looking up from his book, instead replying in his usual bored tone, "I don't see why this is any of your concern," he stated.

"It's not," Duncan agreed, "I was just making some conversation. Jeez, lighten up a bit," he muttered to himself, turning his attention back to his fire.

"So, you with that Courtney girl or something?" Noah asked in monotone, slightly mocking Duncan.

Duncan frowned, glaring at Noah, "Mind your own business," he snapped.

"Right back at ya," Noah said, making a gun with one hand and pointing it at Duncan for a brief second to emphasize his words.

For a little while after that, the two continued ignoring each other. Noah was getting particularly into his book when Duncan interrupted him once again, "But really, I saw Cody was bothering you today. You realize he was hitting on you, right?" the Mohawk-enriched individual wasn't sure if Noah had really noticed.

Noah looked at Duncan over his book, the expression on his face clearly unimpressed, "Yes, I know he was hitting on me," he stated as if that were obvious. He figured that it should have been.

"You like it when he hits on you?" Duncan probed, absently poking at the fire, his attention turned on the other.

"Not especially, no," Noah stated, "He hits on almost everyone though, so it is to be expected. I don't get that upset over it because there's no point."

"You're the only guy he flirts with," Duncan said, pointing the poker stick at Noah.

Noah looked back at his book, "Your point?" he drawled.

"My point is that the only exception to his flirting with girls is you. He probably digs you," Duncan stated.

Noah frowned at the other, but didn't say anything.

"You want him to leave you alone?" Duncan asked, "You could probably find someone to keep him away from you if it really bothered you."

"I don't think I need protection against Cody," Noah stated matter-of-factly.

"Well if you did get protection from someone, he wouldn't bug you anymore," Duncan reminded, "You'd get more reading time, and you'd be left in peace... Let's face it: no one else actually enjoys talking to you."

Noah flipped a page in his book, "Oh really? So why are you talking to me right now, then?"

Duncan frowned, "I was just trying to help," he snapped, muttering after, "Some people have no appreciation..."

The two sat in silence for a few more minutes, not looking at each other.

"But if you did want someone to make Cody leave you alone, you'd have to either date someone or pretend to date someone. Though even that might not be enough—it didn't stop Cody from flirting with Gwen.... Nah, I'd say you'd need to choose your pretend date well. Pick someone that Cody is scared of... Like... Eva, or someone."

"The day I date Eva—or even pretend to—will be the day that you shave that unibrow of yours, _buddy_," Noah responded.

Duncan frowned, dumping a bucket of water on the fire, "Well if you want to be like that, I'm leaving. Good luck keeping warm without my fire." He stomped off.

Noah, left in the dark with words he could no longer read in a book he could no longer see, got up and sighed exaggeratedly. He started heading toward his dorm, intent on going to bed. The day had been seriously messed up and he couldn't wait to just sleep.

* * *

_Alright, so there's chapter four. If there's anything you want to see happen or if you have any ideas, lemme know in your reviews! I'll be happy to try and incorporate your ideas into my plot~_


	6. Chapter 5

**...**

_(It all starts with a)_

_Glance_

**...**

_**Chapter Five: **_

Noah got no sleep that night. His mind was running over what Duncan said again and again. What exactly had the convict meant? _"Pick someone that Cody is scared of... Like... Eva, or someone." _Was that some sort of hint?

No. Noah was digging too far into it. Duncan just wanted him to pretend to date Eva... the delinquent was probably trying to make him go for it so that there'd be more entertainment.

But honestly; there was no way Noah would even consider dating Eva. That was way out of the question.

Still, Duncan had really stressed the idea of pretending to date someone that Cody was scared of... He had to have some sort of ulterior motive to that.

Noah thought, staring blankly at the ceiling. He was on his top bunk while the other people in his cabin got ready for the day. They figured he was sleeping. Noah was glad to spend the day pretending he was.

"_Let go, you're hurting him!" Cody bellowed, but didn't move. He was too afraid of Duncan to actually stop the guy. Hell, yelling was a big feat for him. _

Cody hadn't done anything to help when Duncan grabbed hold of Noah's injury. The brunette was obviously scared of Duncan...

Could Duncan be hinting that...?

No. No, that was impossible. Duncan wanted him to pretend to be with him to get rid of Cody? It was Duncan's idea in the first place—what could he possibly want from that kind of deal?

Noah sat up, running a hand through his hair. It didn't fit, did it? Surely Noah was missing something; some important factor that would rule out the current idea that Duncan wanted them to pretend to be together. There had to be some logic behind it.

Perhaps it was to get back at Courtney? No, that didn't fit. Duncan would use a girl for that. Heather or someone. What was the point in going for a guy? There was no way that Duncan actually liked him, right? That was absolutely ridiculous. Noah refused to believe it.

Though, he had nothing to prove that theory wrong. Duncan had followed him and bandaged him up, then told Noah to call on him if he ever got hurt again. That was slightly weird. Duncan had also started the whole idea of getting with someone to steer off Cody...

Noah turned on his electronic curling iron (made for camping) so that he could flip out his hair like every other morning. (That's right; you didn't think those wings were natural, did you?) He leaned against his wall to wait for it to get hot enough to use.

Cody danced into the room, then stopped when he caught sight of Noah. He turned and left again.

"Okay... what was that about?" Noah grumbled to himself, shaking his head a bit.

Outside, Cody was leaning against the door in a slight panic. He had been planning on running in there and watching Noah sleep—the boy was so adorable when he did—but he'd found the object of his affection awake! Now what?

Cody smacked his forehead, berating himself for running away like he had. Noah had seen him and he ran away! How embarrassing!

Regaining his dignity, Cody walked back into the dorm...only to see Noah changing his shirt. Cody squeaked and ran back outside, down the beach, and threw himself into the water. He screamed at the cold temperature and clung onto the dock, shaking. For such a nice day, the water shouldn't be so cold...

"Hey, what's your problem?" Duncan asked the brunette. Duncan was standing on the dock, emptying a stack of ice cube trays into the water just a few feet away from Cody.

Well, that would explain the temperature.

"Nothing, Coolio," Cody said, "What are you hip-hippity... hip-doing?" he asked.

Duncan shrugged, emptying another tray in the water, "Chef told me he made ice cubes with lake water... and if that's the case, we really shouldn't be having them. I'm getting rid of them for the good of us all." He was planning on saving a few for Harold, but rather than that he didn't want people having fish water ice cubes.

Cody plucked a cube from the water nearby, holding it up to look through it with the sun's help. He noticed a little minnow frozen inside of it, "Funny... I never noticed before," he said.

Duncan finished emptying the trays, setting to work on shoving the empty ones into a large plastic bag, "Me neither," he said, "They didn't do that last time. I think the budget for this year is a lot lower... which can't mean anything good. If they can't buy clean water to make ice cubes.... that's just bad."

"You're right! I should go warn Noah!" Cody said, determined. He tried to move but found that he was frozen to the pole he'd been clinging onto.

Well, wasn't that just brilliant?

Duncan tied the black bag and carried it over his shoulder, "Well since you're going a whole lot of nowhere, I guess I'll do it for you..." he grinned, walking away.

"What? NOO!!!" Cody fought and struggled to get himself detached from the wooden pole, but had absolutely no luck. He wasn't going anywhere until he got some warmer water to unthaw the surrounding area.

Duncan headed for the campfire pit, not really intending on talking to Noah. He was going to let the shrimp come to him—they always did in the end.

And besides, he had to burn the ice cube trays before Chef found out he'd stolen them in the first place.

Duncan prepared the fire and started tossing the trays in one by one. He didn't have to wait very long before someone showed up, though it wasn't who he was expecting.

"So what's your deal?" Courtney asked as she took a seat beside Duncan near the fire he was building.

"What do you mean?" Duncan asked. He really did not want to talk to her. Last time he did, she was accusing him of all sorts of things.

"Well, look what you're doing! You're burning ice cube trays so that no one gets sick! And yet you claim that you don't care and that you're not nice?" she demanded.

"I'm doing this for myself," Duncan argued, "So that I don't accidentally have an ice cube and get sick." He was lying.

And she knew it, "Oh don't give me that! I know you're nice! And I also know that you have a good reason for not visiting me—or calling—since last year. Let's hear it, boy!" Courtney demanded.

Well Duncan certainly was not about to tell Courtney that he basically fell in love with Noah over the summer... no; that was never coming out. His secret and his only—she'd never know. "Well I just got to thinking, and I decided that I didn't feel as strongly about you as I... thought I did." It was true; he didn't feel anything for her anymore. He didn't hate her, but it wasn't like he loved her anymore. Did he ever? He wasn't even sure.

"Will there has to be a reason," Courtney pried, "You can't just up and decide that! What was the deciding factor? Did I do something wrong??"

"Well, you did ditch me for a million dollars," Duncan reminded her.

"Okay, that was a whole year ago," Courtney argued.

"So we should forget about things that happened last year?" Duncan asked.

"Well yeah, I mean let's leave that in the past."

"Then our relationship is also in the past," Duncan stated, poking at the fire again as he watched the ice cube trays melt.

"What? No, not that! I just meant like specific things that went on!" Courtney blabbered.

"You broke it off with me yesterday," Duncan reminded her.

"Yeah, well... I take it back, okay?! So we're good now?" she asked.

"No, I don't want to be with you," Duncan said.

"Why not?? I don't get it!"

"Hey guys! What's up??" Cody asked as he hobbled over, his legs still partially numb from being in such cold water. He was holding onto trees and anything else to support himself enough to walk.

"None of your business, kid," Duncan said, "Beat it."

Cody turned and continued hobbling in the other direction.

"What was that??" Courtney demanded, "You could have been nicer!"

"But I wasn't. Scram, Princess."

"Urgh! Whatever!" Courtney got up and stomped off, growling.

"Well, you seem to be a popular guy to run away from," Noah commented, walking up the path Courtney and Cody had left on.

Duncan smirked, but turned to Noah with an honest expression, "Well, some people can't handle someone like me," he stated.

"Riiight," Noah didn't bring his book, and therefore couldn't ignore Duncan using it. He sat on the other side of the fire, opposite Duncan.

"So, what brings you here?" Duncan asked.

"I want to know what you were trying to get at yesterday," Noah stated.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Elaborate..." Duncan was smiling on the inside. He knew exactly what Noah was asking about.

Noah leaned forward, his elbows on his knees as he rested his chin in his hands, "You know what I'm talking about," he stated, but went on anyway, "The whole 'get protection from Cody by pretending to date someone he's scared of' Why'd you say that? Does it bother you that Cody flirts with me?"

Duncan leaned back in his chair, his hands linked behind his head in satisfaction. He knew the shrimp would come to him... "Considering it?" he teased.

Noah frowned at Duncan, his questions ignored, "Answer my questions first."

"Nah," Duncan grinned at the other, "So have you decided to give it a try? Probably not with Eva, but she's not the only one Cody is scared of..."

"Look, I know what you're getting at."

"And your point? I am quite irresistible—ask Courtney. I'm offering you this for your own good, as well as a possible social boost. You won't get voted off of your team first if you've got me to back you up."

"No, I'll get voted off second," Noah stated, "Benjamin is going to be the first to go because he's probably going to be useless in challenges—if he bothers going to them."

"Hey, if you wanna pass this offer up, then fine. Be my guest. Just don't come whining to me later when you get molested by Cody or something. If you pass up this deal now, it won't be offered again."

Noah considered. Should he really take a deal like that?

"Well let's hear the catch," Noah said, "There's my obvious gains—maybe lasting longer and being left alone by Cody. But what would you get out of the deal? Are you trying to pull some Heather thing and make me into your little follower or what? Cuz that's not going to happen."

Duncan had something else in mind, but the idea of Noah as his slave was quite tempting... "If you agree, you have to vote for who I say. Rather than that, I don't want anything out of the deal."

Well, last time Noah only got to vote once... it wasn't that exciting. He didn't really care about the votes. It made no difference to him.

"Fine. I'm in. I'll pretend to date you.... or something," Noah said.


	7. Chapter 6

**...**

_(It all starts with a)_

_Glance_

**...**

_**Chapter Six:**_

Duncan grinned, "You won't regret it," he said.

"I probably will," Noah stated, standing up.

"Where you going, Dear?" Duncan asked.

"Away from you," Noah stated, his hands in his pockets as he walked away.

Duncan shrugged, "You'll be back," he called.

"Whatever," Noah muttered, leaving the other behind.

Noah didn't know where he wanted to go, but for some reason he was slightly nervous around Duncan. He couldn't help but feel that the delinquent wanted something out of their little deal rather than some voting power.

But Duncan was usually straight with people—he wasn't one to backstab or lie, despite his other faults. So if he said there was no catch, there was probably no catch.

Still, Noah couldn't seem to relax.

By lunch time, Noah was getting paranoid. The campers were called to the hall to eat, and he couldn't help but wonder if Duncan had told anyone about their agreement. Noah had agreed to date Duncan—well, pretend to anyway—and in order to make that believable, everyone had to know. They also would need some sort of proof.

Proof? What would that count as? Noah felt an uneasy feeling in his stomach over the thought. Teenagers always wanted proof. They never believed anything unless there was evidence given to them to support whatever they were told. Unfortunately, Noah was supposed to tell a group of teenagers that he was dating Duncan, of all people. More than anything, people would want proof. Courtney would demand it.

But what was Noah willing to do to prove it? Was he willing to do something like... kiss Duncan?

No, that wasn't really in his list of things to do. Ever.

But that would be what everyone would demand. They'd chant and holler and maybe even force the two together...

Noah made a stop at the bathrooms before continuing to the hall—he had to wait until he wasn't blushing. He didn't want to walk into the hall blushing. No, that would be a very bad idea.

But then again, it was probably just windburn. At least, that was what Noah was telling himself. It was kind of windy out...

* * *

"Man, it's like SO calm today! No wind at all!!" Geoff exclaimed happily. He was just entering the hall with Duncan and DJ, chatting about—guess what—the weather.

"It's a good day for sun tanning," Bridgette commented.

"Dang right it is," Leshawna agreed, snapping her fingers.

Geoff and Duncan high-fived at that idea of the girls in bikinis while DJ just smiled, petting his ever-present Bunny. The two had been reunited after a whole year apart—it was a very emotional experience for both of them.

"So, what's new with you guys?" Katie asked. She and Sadie were sitting beside each other like usual, though the year had seemed to really change them. Sadie had lost a ton of weight and the two girls were wearing completely different clothes. They seemed to not share a brain anymore, though they were both good friends. BFFFLs, if you wanted to go that far.

The Killer Gophers took their seats, poking at their meals while considering the girl's question.

"Well, Geoff moved in with me," Bridgette started, sending a smile to her sweetheart.

"Yeah," Geoff agreed, smiling back at her, "We throw parties like every day. It's AWESOME!!"

Then they started making out, and the team's attention was diverted back to their food, most people stabbing their lumps so that they'd stop crawling away.

* * *

Noah neared the hall, mentally preparing himself to ingest the disgusting food that the Chef had cooked up that day. The best he could hope for would be a burger without a heartbeat, though he knew that was probably asking too much.

Noah entered the hall, picked up a plate, and continued toward his team table. Duncan appeared seemingly out of nowhere, wrapping an arm around Noah and pulling him toward the Killer Gophers' table, "Nuh-uh, Dear, you're eating with me," the mohawk-enriched individual said silkily in the boy's ear.

"Actually, I'm not," Noah stated, ducking out from under the other's arm and making his way toward his fellow Screaming Bass.

"I'm not giving you the choice, Hun," Duncan stated, picking Noah up and carrying the other over his shoulder to sit him down on the bench right beside where Duncan always sat. Noah protested but his words were lost on the delinquent, who really didn't care. Duncan took a seat and slipped his arm around Noah's waist so that the other was anchored there—Noah was not going to get a chance to escape.

Glancing behind himself at his team, Noah realized that they were happy he wasn't eating with them—they didn't speak up against his absence. The Screaming Bass moved so that Noah's place was taken and they ate happily, having some peppy conversation. They looked happy that he wasn't with them.

Saddened by that a bit, Noah turned back to his plate to pick at it, leaning on Duncan only slightly. He appreciated the other's arm around him; it felt like the only thing holding him in the game at that point, because obviously his team didn't like him. Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to get involved with Duncan—that would only make Cody (his closest thing to a friend) hate him.

But only time would tell.

* * *

Cody watched Noah, a fake smile on his face. What was Duncan doing with his hands all over Noah? Preposterous! How dare he!! What gave him the right?? And Noah had even tried to get away! Obviously Noah did not want Duncan's attention, right? Cody would be in his right mind to march over there and demand that Duncan let go of Noah, right?

And yet, Cody stayed in his seat. He didn't want to confront Duncan—that was simply suicide. He'd have to think of some other way around this...

"What's Noah doing with Duncan?" Heather asked.

"I don't know, but they look kinda cute together, eh?" Ezekiel stated with a small smile. His food had leapt out the window, so he was just drinking juice... that was probably made of something disgusting. He didn't want to know what that something was.

Heather grinned, "Courtney looks pretty upset about this..." she was beginning to think about how she could exploit that fact when Benjamin spoke up.

"Hey, what is this?" he asked, poking at his food. To his horror, it poked back. He was out the door in record time, screaming bloody murder while tearing across the beach, over the dock, and into the water.

"First time he's had to eat Chef's food," Harold guessed, shaking is head, "Up until now, he's had the same treatment as Chris. I hope he gets used to it."

"He won't have to get used to it," Heather stated, "He's the first one we're voting off. Right guys?"

Knowing how manipulative she could be, the team just mumbled their agreement. If they fought against what she said, she'd start doing underhanded things and making them do her will anyway. It was easier just to go with whatever she said.

"I'm voting for YOU," Eva announced, pointing an accusing finger at Heather, "You're a backstabbing little witch and I HATE YOU!!!!"

Cody frowned, deducting that Eva's anger management classes hadn't done a thing. That was too bad.

* * *

Duncan was quite happy at the fact that every few minutes Noah inched closer to him. The smaller boy was leaning on him now in an obvious fashion; Noah's lunch had long since scampered away leaving the boy with nothing to do. Noah refused to look up though, as he didn't want to meet any of the Killer Gophers' gazes. Most eyes were on him and he knew that without looking up. Duncan was explaining to the team that he and Noah were together.

Courtney was screaming and had actually been removed from the hall by Eva, who didn't want the girl to hurt Noah. Although Eva and Noah didn't have much in common, they had a sort of friendship between them.

Cody had heard some of what Duncan was saying, but he refused to believe it. Noah couldn't possibly like Duncan, right? Cody wouldn't miss the signs of someone falling in love when he watched them all the time, right? Was he truly that oblivious? Cody didn't think so. Then again, when Noah was leaning on Duncan so much, it was hard to believe that he didn't truly enjoy the contact. Cody didn't know what to think.

But he did know one thing; he was going to talk to Noah after lunch. He had to know the truth.


	8. Chapter 7

_Hey yo~ _

_I got a review saying 'Hurry up and finish the story' (among other things) .... I have a something to say about that: This story has hardly begun, sorry to say but it's not gonna end very soon. It's more than likely that the fic will be.... Ah, I'm estimating just over twenty chapters? Forty? I don't know _

_Then again, I'm not sure. I don't think it will be any less than twenty, at any rate. _

_Anyway, enjoy the chapter~!_

* * *

**...**

_(It all starts with a)_

_Glance_

**...**

_**Chapter Seven:**_

Cody waited outside of the hall for Noah, but Duncan had the other boy tightly in his grip when he left. Cody tried to get Noah's attention, but had absolutely no luck in doing so. He resigned himself to asking Noah that night, in the dorm where Duncan wouldn't be.

And if Duncan was going to sleep in Noah's bed with him, Cody wouldn't have to ask if Noah was serious or not—he'd already have his answer.

But that was one disturbing thought for the poor brunette—imagining the love of his life sleeping with Duncan. The horror.

* * *

Most of the day passed before Cody found Noah alone. The other boy was sitting near the fire place, the sun had already set and the glow of the fire was dancing on Noah's features. It took Cody a few moments to catch his breath and work up the courage to walk over, but eventually he did and took a seat beside Noah.

Cody was on a mission; a mission to find out what was going on between Noah and Duncan. Cody knew that the two probably weren't together, but he couldn't think of a reason for them to pretend to be. It didn't make sense.

"So... you and Duncan?" Cody began, watching Noah carefully. He had to make sure to document every reaction and expression so that he could go back and study it later as he watched the scene play out in his head.

Noah didn't offer a reaction, but he blushed ever so slightly. Cody didn't notice in the firelight, "Uh... yeah," Noah said, as if it was obvious.

"Why?" Cody asked bluntly. He figured that he might as well not beat around the bush—Noah would see through it and know his true intention anyway.

Noah shrugged, making a conscious effort to keep calm. For some reason, he was getting uncomfortable and a little hot, "Why not?" he countered, looking away from the fire and Cody. He had to make sure not to look at the brunette; he could feel that he was blushing and he didn't want the other to see.

Cody was disappointed at the fact that he could no longer see Noah's face, so he got up and moved to sit in front of the boy. That way, no matter what way Noah turned, Cody would still be able to see at least one side of his face.

Noah frowned a bit, but this blush faded. He was no more comfortable than he was a few seconds before, but at least it didn't show on his face...

"So anyway," Cody said, "I don't think that you two look good together. You and Duncan, I mean. I think that you'd look better with... well, anyone but him."

"I don't see it as any of your concern.... but thanks for your opinion." It was obvious Noah did not care about Cody's opinion in the way that he'd said the sarcastic sentence.

The brunette was having a hard time getting any reactions from Noah, and decided to give up. He'd talk about it with the guy some other time—they _did_ have two months as long as they stayed in the game. He'd work at being good friends with Noah—the kid had to open up to him sometime, right? He'd take his time...

"Anyway, you know what I've noticed?" Cody asked. He didn't really have anything to finish that sentence with, though.

"Hm?" Noah made an uninterested noise, which actually encouraged Cody. The know-it-all was probably not even listening, and therefore it didn't matter what Cody said.

"I'm pretty good at annoying people," Cody stated lamely, with nothing else to add afterward. It was the first thing that popped into his mind.

"Exactly what I was thinking, actually," Noah agreed cynically, earning a look from Cody that clearly told him that he should have disagreed. Noah shrugged a bit, opening his ever-present book.

He didn't get more than three words read before Duncan embraced him from behind, licking Noah's ear and saying in a low voice, "Hello, Dear."

Noah jumped only slightly, turning his head to reply when Duncan caught his lips instead, silencing the boy. Noah pushed against the other, but Duncan held Noah's face and body in place for a few seconds before releasing him. Duncan grinned at Noah before heading off again, "Later!"

Noah dropped his face into his hands, clearly embarrassed at that display. Cody sat there blinking in shock for a few moments before staring at Noah's lowered head, "What was that?" he asked.

Noah frowned, though dared not show his blushing face by looking up at the other, "A kiss, genius. What did it look like?" he snapped.

"A kiss..." Cody agreed quietly. He still couldn't quite believe what he'd seen. Duncan had been perfectly comfortable with kissing Noah—it was as if they'd done it before. Had they? Cody wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

But Noah had tried to push Duncan away, right? That was a good sign in Cody's mind. A very good sign indeed. He could work with that. As long as Noah was fighting against Duncan at all, he had a shot. If Noah stopped resisting the delinquent, Cody would be left behind.

But for now he was still very much in the game. It wasn't over. He could win Noah.

Right?

* * *

Noah got up and left Cody alone, heading away from the fire and toward the dorms. He was planning on simply going to bed—he should have never got up that morning.

Or perhaps he should go talk to Duncan. He wanted to get mad at the other for kissing him like that in front of Cody. It was most unnecessary.

Then again, Noah didn't really mind. The kiss, although short, was kind of... nice.

No. Uh-uh. He was NOT going to think things like that. This was a pretend relationship, all to get Cody off of his back. Duncan had only kissed him in front of Cody because Cody was the one they really had to act in front of. Yup, that's right. And Noah's blushing was all to put on a better show for Cody. Yup; had to make it all believable!

Noah knew he was lying to himself, though he didn't want to stop. He didn't want to think about why he was so nervous around Duncan; he didn't want to think about it at all.

Getting into his dorm, Noah climbed into his bed and slipped into his sleeping bag. He would sleep the rest of the day away—he did not want to be awake anymore.

* * *

Cody stared at the fire a few more minutes, pondering his options.

Sure, Duncan freaked him out a little. So what? Cody could overcome that. He wasn't about to let Noah get taken away by the delinquent teen. No; Noah belonged to Cody. Duncan had no business in the matter. He was in the way. Cody had to get rid of him.

And that would be easiest with the help of Heather. That girl could get rid of anyone.

But if Cody was going to ask her for help, he needed to make sure that he truly needed it. She wasn't the kind of person to stop once motivated, no matter if he changed his mind later or not. He had to be prepared to see either Duncan or Noah voted off next. He had to be prepared to take the blame if either got hurt by Heather's meddling ways. Could he do it?

With less than a second to ponder that, Cody decided that he indeed was ready to take the risks. He wanted Noah to himself, and if getting rid of Duncan was what he had to do, then so be it. He'd do whatever it took.

Cody got up and cracked his knuckles, heading toward the Screaming Bass' dorms. He would have to get her to agree; he really needed her help. With Heather on his side, he'd get Noah for sure. Duncan wouldn't stand a chance.


	9. Chapter 8

**...**

_(It all starts with a)_

_Glance_

**...**

_**Chapter Eight:**_

It was early morning, sometime before the challenge, when Cody came across Heather and started a conversation. In about a half hour they'd have to get ready for their challenge, but Cody had made sure he had enough time to talk to the girl privately before that.

"And why should I help you?" Heather asked, studying her nails as she sat with her legs crossed on an outdoor bench. Cody had found her and sat down beside the girl, asking her if she would do him a favour. She had told him that she would consider it, and then Cody had told her the whole situation.

Utterly flattered but not surprised that he had come to her for the task, Heather gazed at the gap-toothed boy as she waited for the answer.

"Well... I dunno," Cody mumbled. He hadn't really thought of anything he could give her in exchange, "What should I owe you? What do you want?" he asked.

Heather grinned, an evil expression flashing on her face, "I want you to join my alliance," she stated, "I do this for you and you have to follow every word I say. I'll get you to the final three—deal?"

Cody knew what a huge mistake it would be to say yes to her offer. It was like making an agreement with the devil and selling his soul or something.

But he really wanted Noah, and if that's what it took...

"Deal."

* * *

Heather had a few ideas on what she could do. She had another few ideas on what she'd _like_ to do. She'd mix them all together and make a master plan...

But for that, she'd need one more alliance member...

And she knew exactly who she wanted.

* * *

Noah was trying to have some peace as he did his hair, but Ezekiel didn't seem to want to leave him alone. The other boy was seated on Noah's bed, annoying him with random things. Every once in a while, Ezekiel would even mutter something in another language. It seemed that the boy was making Noah mad on purpose by rubbing his knowledge in the boy's face.

Noah only wished that he knew a language Ezekiel didn't; if he did, then he could annoy the other right back. But unfortunately, he could do nothing but sit there and make rude remarks. Ezekiel was hardly listening though, so it was probably a waste of time.

Noah pointedly ignored Ezekiel, but once Cody entered the room he found a better solution.

"Hey Cody," Noah called, hopping off of his bunk, "Let's take a walk."

And in that moment, Cody saw the heavens open up and angels sing. All of his dreams had just come true.

With the weight of that epiphany, the boy fainted.

Noah smacked his forehead, bypassing Cody's unconscious body and leaving. He needed someone who actually stayed conscious long enough to get him away from the punk Ezekiel.

Ezekiel followed Noah easily, walking beside the boy and chattering about Portuguese nouns... or something. Noah wasn't really listening.

The two had almost gotten to the beach when the intercoms came on, telling the campers to gather on the dock of shame. Noah and Ezekiel were the first ones there, and waited while the rest of the campers showed up. Harold was dragging an unconscious Cody onto the dock with much difficulty as Chris started talking.

"So today's challenge will last for three days!" he announced, "We'll be sending you all off into the woods to tent, and you'll have to gather clues, find treasures, and be the first team to get all of the items. As well as put them together with the blueprints you find."

"So we're going on a huge treasure hunt? That's so easy," Heather stated, flicking a hand.

"That's not all," Chris reminded with a grin, "You can tent with whoever you want, as long as it's someone from the other team!" Chris exclaimed, "Now, here's the rules: No talking to anyone on your own team. You can't write things to each other, you can't verbally talk to each other, and you can't mouth things. You can look at people, nod, wave, gesture... but nothing more than that. You can talk to the entire other team, but any communication with your own will get both of the communicators disqualified. I hope you're good at charades! Oh, and you can't use a member on the other team to verbally pass messages to another one of your teammates, either," he added.

Noah knew who he was tenting with as soon as Chris had finished his first sentence. Of course Duncan would choose him; the delinquent seemed to find utter joy in annoying Noah. Noah really did regret making that deal with him...

And yet, there was an increasingly familiar butterfly feeling in his stomach at the thought of tenting alone with the convict...just the two of them...

Noah decided the nervous feeling in his stomach was because he'd missed breakfast. What else could it be from?

"Long time, no see, Hun," Duncan drawled, slipping an arm around Noah and pulling the other close.

Noah crossed his arms, "I hoped it would be even longer," he stated in his usual tone, looking off to the side so he didn't make eye contact to the rest of the teens gathered on the dock. He felt his face getting slightly warmer...

Duncan grinned, an amused expression on his face, "Oh yeah? Well I think you're happy to see me," he said.

"So you're stupider than you look..." Noah rolled his eyes, though he did lean back into Duncan a bit. It was probably unnoticeable to anyone else, but Duncan felt the shift.

He smirked in response, "That may be so, but at least I'm not in denial," he said.

"Denial about what?" Noah asked with no interest, mentally noting how good Duncan smelt.

"You like me. Admit it."

"I will admit no such thing."

"See? Denial."

"That's not denial, its simple fact: I don't like you," Noah snapped.

"Sure, sure," Duncan smiled, wrapping his other arm around Noah's waist to hug him tightly from behind.

The rest of the campers were staring at this point, though Duncan paid no notice. Noah dropped his face into his hand in embarrassment, but Duncan was too busy kissing Noah's neck to notice the audience.

Even Chris was speechless, and simply walked away. He really needed a coffee.

"What are you doing, Duncan???" Courtney demanded.

"Courtney, you're out!" Chris called from the loudspeakers. How he'd gotten to his building so fast, no one knew. Chef came and dragged Courtney away, kicking and screaming.

"Duncan, since you didn't bother listening to her, you weren't really communicating. You're still in!" Chris announced.

But Duncan didn't hear that either. He was too busy groping his pretend-boyfriend's chest under his shirt. Noah was squirming like crazy, protesting for Duncan to stop—but anyone watching could tell that Noah was enjoying himself. The blush was a fairly good indicator.

* * *

_Cheers for a meddling subplot and some physical contact between them!! lol_


	10. Chapter 9

_**

* * *

**_

ALERT:::::::

* * *

Author here! There is ACTION in this chapter—as in boyXboy loving!!!! If you don't want to read that, then stop right now. For those of you who want to read that, continue and enjoy!

**...**

_(It all starts with a)_

_Glance_

**...**

_**Chapter Nine: **_

Duncan had picked up their camping supplies and dragged Noah off into the woods by the hand after Chef, who was leading the kids into the forest. The campers had split into twos, though no one was happy about it—except maybe Duncan. (And Noah, but he'd never admit it.)

Heather was walking beside Courtney, her chosen partner, "Doesn't looking at them just make you sick?" Heather asked.

"Yeah. It really does," Courtney agreed, "I'm never going to forgive them—either one."

"You know," Heather said, tapping a finger on her chin, "I think you and I have similar interests. I think we should team up..."

* * *

Cody trudged along beside Geoff, his chosen partner. Geoff was blabbing on about parties and awesomeness, throwing in quite a few 'woohoo's. Cody's mind was somewhere else.

On Noah, of course.

His object of obsession was going to be staying with Duncan, of course. Even if Noah wasn't, Cody wouldn't be able to stay with him anyway—they were on the same team. It was the first time that Cody regretted being on the same team as Noah. Had he known he could sleep in the same tent alone with Noah, Cody would have paid money to be on the Screaming Bass team.

But the fact remained that Cody was stuck with Geoff. Noah was with Duncan, and Cody was in an alliance with Heather that put him completely at her mercy. Still, she promised to get Noah and Duncan split up. If nothing else, Heather would get one of them voted off and therefore away from each other.

Cody didn't want to see his love lose the chance of a million dollars a second time, but he knew that Heather would do what she had to. Cody had to be ready to accept the consequences of letting her do the job. He had to live with whatever methods she chose.

What Cody really feared, however, was Noah's reaction. If Duncan was voted off and Noah was without him, Cody wasn't sure how the smart boy would react. Would he be heartbroken? Sad? Happy? Noah didn't seem to completely hate being around Duncan, which was a bad sign. Cody was afraid of seeing Noah's reaction when the two were split up.

But it had to be done, right? Or was Cody just being selfish?

What if Noah found out Cody was behind it all? Cody would probably lose his chance at the teen anyway if that happened. He had to make sure that Heather did everything independently, and that he didn't help with anything.

But he knew deep down that it would not end well. Cody knew that he would probably have to do something and Noah would figure out who was behind the plan. Noah might hate Cody for the rest of his life...

No. Cody refused to believe that Noah and Duncan were that close. Cody just had to be a really good friend to Noah, and then even if the smart boy found out that Cody was behind the plot, Noah might not get that mad. If they were good friends, nothing could tear them apart.

But that went for Duncan and Noah too, right? If they were good friends—or dare Cody think it, _more than friends_—then nothing could tear them apart, either. Cody was walking a fine line, and he was hardly prepared for it.

"WOOHOO!!" Geoff exclaimed.

"Geoff, you're out because Bridgette heard your Woohoo and you were therefore communicating with her. Bridge, Geoff, you're OUT!!" came Chris' voice from the loudspeaker.

Uh oh, now Cody was alone. Completely alone with no partner. What was he supposed to do??

Cody breathed in and out a few times as Geoff was taken away by Chef, who left Geoff's bag of supplies there for Cody. Cody had to calm down; it was not the end of the world. Working on the challenge alone would be fine, right? He could do it.

Or perhaps he had better things to do. Now that he didn't have a partner, there was no one to ask him what he was doing or follow him around. Cody could follow Noah and Duncan around to make sure they didn't get too close. He had to make sure that they kept each other at arm's length.

How was he going to do that? Well, he had no idea. He could talk to Heather, but Heather was on the same team as him. For the duration of the challenge, Cody would just act alone without her. Everything would be fine.

* * *

"What's the worst thing someone can do when they're in a relationship?" Heather asked Courtney.

"Uh..." the former CIT had a few ideas, but Courtney knew that none of them were what Heather was looking for.

"Cheat. Cheating is the worst thing that a person can do," Heather snapped.

"Right. Cheat. Got it," Courtney nodded.

"Good. So, we'll try that first. We'll make them cheat on each other."

"Both of them?"

"Yes, it's much more fun that way."

"With who? Duncan and Noah aren't really liked by anyone right now, are they?"

"That doesn't matter. You're going after Noah and I'll take Duncan. We can do this, Courtney.... unless you'd rather go for Duncan."

"No, that's fine. I wouldn't want to give him the satisfaction of thinking I still liked him or something." Courtney frowned.

"Perfect! So, we'll let them be alone tonight. Tomorrow during the day, we'll split them up and take them down." Heather rubbed her hands together sinisterly.

"And what if this doesn't work?" Courtney asked, "It doesn't seem like a very good plan."

"Don't worry about it," Heather said, flicking a wrist, "I have many more plots in case this one fails. And even if it does work, we could use some of my back-up plans just for extra fun." She grinned evilly.

Courtney smirked back, her bad side coming out, "Let's do it!!"

* * *

Chris leaned back in his chair, satisfied with himself, "You know, Chef," he said, "I think that these episodes are going to be very good. Look at what's happened already! There's romance, there's plotting, there's deceit! All we need now is some violence and sex and it would be perfect television!"

"You know, Chris," Chef said, "They just might have sex if you're not careful. That Duncan boy and that Noah kid look like they're going to go at it tonight in their tent."

Chris shrugged, "I probably should have installed a camera in the tents, now that you mention it," he stated.

Chef frowned, stirring his latest batch of slop. He decided to go along with whatever the other man was saying, "Yes, you should have...."

* * *

Benjamin sighed, walking along beside Sadie. The girl was crying about not being with her BFFL, though Ben wasn't paying much attention. He was watching DJ and Justin talk about modelling, for some reason. The two other men were walking in front of Sadie and Ben, discussing looks and pants and such. Apparently DJ had gotten into modelling after the last season of Total Drama Island. Interesting.

Well, not really. Ben just pretended it was interesting as he walked along beside Sadie, who was still blubbering about her awesome friend.

Ben sighed, knowing that he would lose his sanity if she did not stop talking. He turned to her, stopped, and grabbed her shoulders, "Katie wouldn't want you to suffer like this," he said passionately, "She would want you to go forth with me and win this challenge for the both of you. Don't you see that this is only another bump in your road of friendship? You must cross over the rough patches in your friendship and succeed, Sadie! You can do it; Katie and I believe in you!" Ben came up with that on the spot, but the plump girl seemed pretty into it.

"OMG you are like SO right! I can't believe I almost got depressed over this! Me and Katie can do this, we are BFFLs! We can get through anything and everything! Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, Ben!" she hugged Benjamin tightly, just as he'd been expecting.

He slipped his hand into her pocket and snatched out a piece of paper, shoving it in his own pocket as Sadie cried with joy, not even noticing. Yes, he'd wanted that paper. Ben hadn't expected it to be so easy to obtain, though he couldn't complain. Easy worked for him.

* * *

The first day passed soon enough as the teens picked their tenting places and settled in. No one was worried about the challenge; they were all kind of procrastinators. And even if some of them weren't, like Courtney, they were preoccupied with other things.

Duncan and Noah were in their tent, hanging out until they got tired. It was late evening, almost dark outside. Duncan had proposed that the two simply call it a night and not bother searching for clues that night. Noah hadn't wanted to do any searching, so that worked for him.

Noah lay down in his sleeping bag, opening his book to read before going to bed. Duncan snatched the book from his hands, tossing it out of the tent and zipping the flap shut.

"Hey! What was that for?" Noah demanded, getting out of his sleeping bag and walking toward the door.

"You don't need a book for entertainment," Duncan stated with a suggestive look, "I'll entertain you."

"I don't want any part of your entertainment," Noah griped, reaching out to undo the zipper of the tent.

Duncan wrapped his arms around Noah's waist and pulled the teen into his lap, immediately setting to work on kissing Noah's neck.

"Duncan, stop!" Noah shouted, trying to pry the other's fingers off of himself, "I just... ahh..." Duncan's hand had found Noah's crotch, massaging it through the fabric of the other's jeans. "Argh, Duncan!" Noah tried to fight a bit more, but he was getting harder by the second. Duncan's hand was making easy work of arousing the other, now massaging the bulge in between Noah's legs.

Unable to resist, Noah ground his hips into Duncan's hand, loving the friction that his jeans supplied him with. He let out a breathy moan before gasping as the delinquent's hand pinched the other gently through the fabric. The strange mix of pleasure and pain confused Noah for only a minute before Duncan started moving. He laid Noah down and crawled on top of him, kissing the other boy slowly and deeply.

Noah moaned almost inaudibly, his arms wrapping around Duncan's neck to pull the other closer, wanting Duncan's tongue deeper inside of him. He wanted to be closer, closer, closer. As close as he could get.

Duncan smirked into the kiss, palming the other's erection and making slow circular motions, taking full advantage of the friction-giving jeans.

Noah's reaction to that was a gasp as he arched into Duncan, also satisfying his want to get closer to the delinquent.

There were so many sensations all at once, Noah was overwhelmed. His brain couldn't focus on one single thing, and the only thought in Noah's mind was the simple fact that it felt _GOOD_.

By the time Noah came, his chest was heaving and he was hot all over, like he'd been sitting in a sauna. His heart rate was rapid and his face was flushed as he looked up at Duncan with half-lidded eyes, a strange expression on his face.

Duncan grinned down at the other, flicking Noah's crotch which earned a small jerk from the boy and an angry expression. "Hope you brought a few extra pairs of underwear," Duncan teased, leaning down to kiss Noah once more before climbing off and sitting on his own sleeping bag, pulling out a piece of wood that he started carving a skull into with a jackknife.

Noah sat up, his breathing still quickened, "Duncan," he all but panted, "I hate you."

"Aw, don't be like that _Dear_," Duncan teased, a grin on his face as he observed the other, "If you say things like that, I'll have to work harder to woo you." He winked, "But maybe you'd like that."

Noah stood pointedly and left the tent to get his book, not returning until a few moments later when his blush had faded away.

Duncan grinned as the other entered again, "You didn't deny it," he stated.

"Oh shut up already," Noah griped, sliding into his own sleeping bag and yanking the covers over his head. Duncan chuckled but got into his sleeping bag and rolled to face the wall, falling asleep soon after. Noah rolled his eyes and drifted off also.


	11. Chapter 10

**...**

_(It all starts with a)_

_Glance_

**...**

_**Chapter Ten:**_

The next day started quite suddenly for Noah when he was hit in the head with one of the newly-carved chunks of wood Duncan had piled up beside him. The delinquent had carved his skull into many wood pieces and was planning on throwing the stack at Noah until the other woke up. Of course, Duncan was greatly displeased when his company woke up after only one hit.

"What are you doing?" Noah demanded, sitting up with a glare as he rubbed his head. He didn't bother looking for whatever Duncan had hit him with. He probably didn't want to know what it was.

Duncan grinned and crawled over to Noah, tipping the other's chin up with a finger. He was about to say something provocative when a loud voice interrupted them from outside.

"HEY DUNCAN!!!" Cody's voice called, "Duncan, hey Duncan!!!!! You in there??????"

Duncan frowned, letting go of Noah and heading over to the zipper of the tent. He pulled it open a bit and stuck his head out, "This isn't the best time. Come back later." Duncan pulled his head back in and was about to zip the flap back up when Cody's hand grabbed hold of his green Mohawk and pulled his head back outside.

"But this is important! It can't wait!" Cody insisted. He didn't want Duncan being alone with Noah; he knew how cute Noah looked when the boy just woke up. Cody knew that if Duncan was left with Noah for a few more minutes, something would go down. Cody could not let that happen.

Duncan was overly annoyed. Noah was extra cute when he was half asleep, and Duncan wanted to enjoy it. And yet he wasn't even looking at the smart teen, the convict had his head outside of the tent. Cody was taking away Duncan's _**Noah time**_. Where was the justice in that?

Duncan frowned and growled at Cody, who let go of him quickly, "I don't have anything to say to you," Duncan snapped.

Cody was beginning to feel fear boiling up inside of him. He really was intimidated by Duncan.

Okay, he was completely terrified of the other teen. Cody hated being around the delinquent when he was mad...

But he had to remember his mission. It was all-important, "Well since Geoff is out, I want you to be my new partner!!" Cody exclaimed, putting his hands out for emphasis.

"Thanks for the offer, but no."

"Oh come on! I make a good teammate!" Cody did a thumbs-up.

"I already picked a teammate."

"Then we could be a group of three! Come on, I know there's room in that tent for me!" Cody could fit right in between Duncan and Noah...

"Look, I'm just not interested. Find someone else," Duncan drawled.

Cody frowned. He'd known that it would be difficult, but he had to have a reason to stick around somehow. He had to find some reason he couldn't leave the two alone together.

And yet, he wasn't coming up with anything.

Just as Cody was beginning to panic, a smooth voice rang out behind him.

"Hey Cody! What are you doing?" Courtney.

"Hey, Duncan. Long time no see!" Heather.

Cody visibly relaxed once by Heather's side. They couldn't talk to each other, but just having her there as moral support was good. He could handle that.

"I was just trying to team up with Duncan and Noah," Cody told Courtney.

"Nice! I think we should all team up into one huge team," Courtney said matter-of-factly, "I was a CIT, I would know. The best way to work is have a large team, have some teamwork, and split into groups all with certain jobs fitted to the individuals."

"Ah, well... I don't know..." Cody was doubtful. He was sure the two girls had a plan, but he didn't exactly know where their plan was leading. And he wasn't sure he liked the idea of them having a plan.

Heather was the next to speak, "Duncan, what do you say?"

Duncan frowned at Heather, "No thanks; I don't want to work with you."

Heather sighed, "Well you wouldn't have to work with me. You could work with Courtney or Cody, too."

"Why wouldn't I just work with Noah?"

"Because obviously Noah and I have more in common," Courtney stated, "We're very smart and I think that if we got the clues, we would be able to decode them. Let Noah and I work on figuring out the clues and Duncan can get the objects after we know where to go. Heather can help Duncan. Cody can search for clues. We'll have everyone doing a job; it'll be perfect!"

"Doesn't sound perfect to me," Noah grumbled. He didn't like Courtney very much.

"Courtney, I think you talked to your own team right there," Cody pointed out, "You can't talk to Duncan."

The teens waited in silence, expecting Chris to yell out her disqualification. Noah was silently praying in his mind, hoping that the annoying girl would be gotten rid of.

* * *

Chris sighed, "Do you have a three?"

Chef frowned, "You're cheating!" he accused as he slammed his two on the table.

Chris grinned, taking the two and matching his last card, "No, I just rock at Go Fish." He decided not to mention to Chef that he'd asked for a three. The large man just wasn't very good with numbers...

Chef grumbled to himself, then saw on one of the many screens four teens talking, "Hey Chris, they look like they're talking to each other. Should you listen in and disqualify some of them?"

Chris shrugged, "Nah. As long as they _think_ I'm watching, they won't talk to their own teammates. Is it your deal this time or mine?"

"Yours, sir."

"Sweeeet."

* * *

"Well I guess he's giving me a break for being UNFAIRLY CHEATED OFF last season," Courtney griped.

"Oh get over it already," Noah groaned as he changed his clothes. He figured that if Duncan's head was outside of the tent, the delinquent wouldn't notice him dressing. It was perfect timing.

"So then we're agreed!" Heather stated happily, clapping her hands together.

"Cody, go clue searching!" Courtney ordered, pointing away from the small clearing Duncan had chosen for his tent.

"Why me? Where are the clues supposed to be?" Cody whined. It was an island; how was he supposed to locate a clue? They could be hidden ANYWHERE.

"We'll all search at first," Heather explained, grabbing Duncan and yanking him out of the tent. She pulled him off into the woods; "We're looking in this direction!" she called back.

Cody sighed, happy that Duncan was gone. Still, he couldn't talk to Noah. Instead, he walked in the opposite direction that Heather went in. He'd start looking for clues in that direction, if only because he didn't want to meet up with Duncan.

Courtney put her hands on her hips, "Okay, Noah! Get your butt out here and let's start searching! We've got a lot of clues to find and all day, so let's get at it!"

Noah was inside the tent, his eyes closed as he stayed curled in his sleeping bag. He hoped that if she thought he was sleeping, Courtney would go without him.

"Get up!" Courtney called once she looked into the tent, seeing Noah asleep.

"Get up I said!" Courtney bellowed, climbing into the tent and grabbing the bottom of Noah's sleeping bag. She tugged the bag and Noah out of the tent with force, pulling the brunette along behind her in the sack as she walked into the woods.

"I guess you'll be able to see clues if they're low to the ground this way," Courtney stated.

Noah was riding along in his sleeping bag, trying not to fall out of it as it slid over logs and rocks and other bumpy things. It was a painful ride, but then again he didn't feel like walking so he decided to deal with it.

* * *

"What is your problem, Heather? I don't want to look for clues with you, that's why you're not my partner."

"Just because I'm not your partner doesn't mean we can't look together, Dunkie. Besides, it's only for today. Tomorrow we'll have enough clues to get started on collecting the objects and building whatever it is that we have to." Her voice was laced with a sick, fake innocence. Duncan growled.

"Don't call me 'Dunkie' ever again, and I'll put up with you for only today."

"Sweet. I knew you'd come around." Heather punched him lightly on the shoulder as the delinquent glared off ahead of them. Oh how he hated Heather...

Heather glanced at Duncan every once in a while, deciding when she would make her move. Would it be better to simply kiss him? Or throw herself onto him and try to make out? Or should she find an audience and then kiss him? Or should she find an audience and make it look like he started it? Decisions, decisions.

She liked the audience idea, and having him look at fault worked too. Heather grinned evilly as her eyes bore into Duncan's back. Yes, she'd have her fun. She couldn't wait to break up his little fling with Noah.


End file.
